Getting the Word out.

Signs of the times

So much can happen in just a few hours, even in a few seconds. Sometimes, it spells the difference between missing your flight and being just in the nick of time before the gate closes. Other times, the few seconds can determine life or death.

I was locked out of my car a few hours ago. So I was out having dinner with friends and as I was returning to my car and rummaging through my bag to get my bunch of keys, I couldn’t find where my car key was. For some reason, there was no panic that took over me, which normally happens. I just got my things out one by one, and when I came to terms with the fact that the key wasn’t there, the next thing to do was to look for it. Eventually, after searching the restaurant and retracing my steps, I went back to my car and with one peek at the window, there it was, lying on the seat. I couldn’t quite figure out how it got separated from the rest of my keys. They were in one key chain.

So I called my friends again to ask if I can be dropped off home, then I called our driver to maybe have a go at it and see if he can “pry open” the car. TV shows give you the impression that it’s easy as ABC, but it’s actually quite tricky. A few hours ago, I was dreading and thinking of ways to cope without a car. You might ask where the spare key was, and my sister Jem accidentally brought it with her in Singapore when she went back about three weeks ago. Since the car is out in the open (by the highway) and because people might see that we’re trying to open it and so get the idea, I was a little fearful for its safety. The next best thing is to have my sister LBC the spare key to me, which would take about 4-7 days at least. In between that period, there’s always the safety of the car to worry about.

Well, it’s been three hours since that incident and the car is now happily parked inside our garage, thanks in part to this youtube hack I found online about unlocking your car in 10 seconds. It took much longer for our driver to do it (needs practice, I guess) but what a difference a few hours can make. Stress and worries gone. Now I can sleep soundly and not worry anymore about it.

Then, there were the attacks in Paris last night.

I didn’t hear about this news until late this morning when it was all over my Facebook feed. The devastation and the gravity of this attack was overwhelming and it made me really, really sad. I’m slowly recognizing how evil the days are, and how much more vigilant we should be now in maximizing our time. It also made me angry at the very presence of evil. Because evil and all that it affects is heartbreaking. The corruption of people, inhumanity, the loss of conscience and any regard at all for that person’s worth. The things people do to each other, for what? For some holy war that only fanatics believe in? Where do they get the “right” to end a person’s life and how can they have no more fear? How can these people be so brutal and inhumane, like they aren’t human anymore! It is very, very disturbing and my heart is utterly grieved at this unspeakable tragedy.

I read that the band that was playing at the rock concert had a few minutes to escape just as the attacks came. A few minutes spelled life and death for them.

We, too, are in a life and death situation. For every day that passes, we are closer and closer to death. It is the destiny of man and it is a fact that life moves downhill from birth. The earth will decay and rot and give way, and so will our bodies. Life here is temporary and we are only given this time here to make the important decision: to follow Christ, or to reject him. This is the life and death situation that every person faces. You may not believe in it, but let me just ask you one question. Suppose you are right and that there is in fact, no God, then nothing would have been lost by those who believed in Him.

But, suppose that God is real (and He is), and everything He said about himself is real, what would you have lost? Those who didn’t believe in him would have lost EVERYTHING and would have no other option but to face the consequences of forever being separated from the presence of a good, powerful, loving God.

Time is all we have in this world, and when it is gone, there is nothing left. Possessions? We don’t get to bring it when we die. People? We get separated by death. Time? That will spell where our destination is –a life of eternity with God, or a life of eternity without.

My prayer for you is that you will know the true God –Jesus Christ, as your personal Lord and Savior, and that you may know and experience the joy of having a personal relationship with Him.